what wetsuit for wales in the winter?

[megsurfgurl]

Hey

Ive been surfing for 2years but never surfed in the in the winter, but ive decided to this year because everyone says theres better waves and its less crowded. I already have a 5/4mm wetsuit, would that be okay to use throughout the winter months in wales? and also what other stuff would i need like boots, gloves and hoods? By the way...I really dont wanna wear a hood =S lol.

Thanks for your help guys x

[IdRatherBeSurfing]

i wear a c-skins 5/3 with just a bikini underneath, tho you could wear a thermal rashie if you get cold.

you can get pretty thick gloves, but mine are only 2mm i think. i also wear hiking socks in my boots cos my feet get cold easily

im not a hood fan either

[isaluteyou]

if it keeps you warm wear it screw looking good if a multi colored suit with the words "whoYah" were blasted all over and it was the only thing that would do the trick id have no trouble in sticking it on and prancing around like twerp

Ps i hate hoods as well i got sooo much hair it just infurates me putting one on. and i look like an astronought with a beard

[IdRatherBeSurfing]

ROFL

[Phil]

id get a hood, theres nothing worse than bailing in 9c water with no hood

i rember in feb i got pinned down on quite a big clean up set with no hood, when i came up every thing had gone really bright my vision was blured with lots of nice bright colours and one pounding ice cream headache

[drowningbitbybit]

I cant stand hoods, they make me very claustrophobic. A cap is enough usually.


And its important to look a buffoon. If you're not in full buffoon-mode, then clearly you're not a real winter surfer

[teighto]

What type of cap do you wear ????

is it similar to a swinmming Cap ?

[GowerCharger]

5/4 will be more than warm enough, will see you through the coldest days no problem. Get a good quality pair of boots, dont be tempted by cheap crappy one cos they just fall apart and leak sooner. You will want mitts or gloves, but only when it gets really cold so a cheap pair of mitts would do as long as they fit well. (remeber boots and mitts go under the cuffs of your suit not over).
A rash vest will stop you getting a rash and adds a bit of warmth, and you can get ones with hoods built in giving you the option to have it on or off while you out, but you only really ineed a hood for a few days in winter when it gets super cold and its windy.

[Midnight Rider]

So generaly speaking what month do you normaly go from a summer suit to a winter one in Wales?

[GowerCharger]

depends, if its really sunny (like today) id still wear shorts now, a shortie if its colder, and last week when it was overcast and windy i wore my winter suit.

[IdRatherBeSurfing]

i started wearing a winter wettie around october/november last year... but saying that I also wore it down in Newquay in August this year! it was cold, and bleak!

[kitesurfer]

I think you can get those winter steamers now that are covered in velcro, specifically designed for the welsh winters!

KS

[el_timmo]

And its important to look a buffoon. If you're not in full buffoon-mode, then clearly you're not a real winter surfer

[GowerCharger]

i hope thats not concrete your resting the swallow tail of that board on, thats just asking to get chipped

[el_timmo]

1. my boards already chipped

2. it's sand

[GowerCharger]

wasnt having a go man, just looks pretty solid in the photo and ive had 2 swallow tails myself and they where constantly gettign chips off the tails. (in fact i just got one back after years in my olds garage to find its been trashed and badly repaired by my nephew and has nearly an inch missing off one of the tails )

[el_timmo]

sorry if I came across as being rude....

That was actually on the road, but there was sand all over the road as there usually is. My board however was chipped anyway. These days, I don't even bother to try to fix it properly because the repairs just keep chipping off, so I do a cowboy.

How to do a cowboy Timmo style:

1. get some old newspaper and superglue
2. rip paper up and stuff as much of it as possible in hole
3. add superglue
4. put flat piece of newspaper over rest of hole
5. paste superglue on newspaper
6. Allow to dry and read rest of newspaper

It is a VERY temporary repair, and to be honest I wouldn't suggest doing it because the superglue probably melts the foam or something, and surely adding newspaper would only increase the weight, but what the hell.... it's my board, and I'll do with it what I please!!

oh, sometimes in place of newspaper to stuff the hole, I use matchsticks! ahhahaa

[Phil]

so you gave up using duct tape then ?

[isaluteyou]

1. get some old newspaper and superglue
2. rip paper up and stuff as much of it as possible in hole
3. add superglue
4. put flat piece of newspaper over rest of hole
5. paste superglue on newspaper
6. Allow to dry and read rest of newspaper

Blue peter senirio

[el_timmo]

hehe phil, depends on how I'm feeling

hehehe unfortunately I never have seen Blue Peter, but I get your drift.